Levia Sutton, MSN, CRNA

Levia Sutton is a first year PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. She is a Penn Presidential Fellow and Fontaine Fellow. Levia graduated from Binghamton University in New York with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2003. She began her clinical practice as a registered nurse in critical care at NYU-Langone Medical Center in New York. She then relocated to Philadelphia in 2005 and cared for patients at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in the Cardio-Thoracic Surgical Intensive Care Unit. In pursuit of her interest in anesthesia, in 2006, Levia entered the Nurse Anesthesia program at Penn, and graduated with a Master of Science in Nursing in 2008. Levia entered into practice as a CRNA at Einstein Medical Center in North Philadelphia. That experience became the foundation which guided her clinical anesthesia practice. Serving patients in underserved communities emerged as her passion during her years of practice at academic trauma centers. Levia’s various clinical and life experiences inform the research interests that she developed over time. She intends to focus her research on the systems and structures that impact racial health disparities. More specifically, Levia has an interest in the lived experiences and health of racialized populations living in communities experiencing violence. Her goal is to build a program of research that will have an impact on policies and systems to reduce health disparities and support the health and well-being of marginalized communities. Levia gives back to the nurse anesthesia profession through her work with the Diversity in Nurse Anesthesia Mentorship Program (DNAMP) - a non-profit organization founded in 2008 by Wallena Gould, EdD, CRNA, FAAN, FAANA. The DNAMP seeks to inform, empower and mentor underrepresented nurses with an interest in the nurse anesthesia profession. Since April of 2021, Levia has actively supported the mission of this organization by serving as the Chair of the Personal Statement and Resume Review Committee. She has led the efforts to grow the DNAMP Review Committee to over 30 nurse anesthetists. During her leadership, the committee has supported hundreds of nurses on their journey to become a nurse anesthetist. (space)Other professional interests: mentorship, education and workforce diversity. (space) Highlights: Presidential PhD Fellow Fontaine Fellow; Diversity in Nurse Anesthesia Mentorship Program; American Association of Nurse Anesthesiologists